"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI

03 May 2009

Angels, Demons, Liars & Thieves

Excellent review of the movie adaptation of Angels and Demons. . .this is the latest piece of hateful flotsam to be produced by anti-Catholic bigot and Know-Nothing harpie, Dan Brown. Tom Hanks' participation in this farce is disappointing. Note the liberal cowardice of the movie's producers who change the distinctly Muslim/middle eastern name of the assassin in the book to something less potentially offensive to our fatwa-prone friends. Obviously, the producers aren't all that worried that the violent minions of the Evil Catholic Church will kidnap them and make a Youtube video of their beheading.

During the fracas over The DaVinci Code, I was asked many times if Catholics should go see the movie or read the book. My advice then remains the same for Brown's latest excretion: if you want to give your hard-earned money to someone who is willing to lie about the Church to make a profit, do so.

One could argue that Brown's books and their movie adaptations are immoral in themselves. I won't argue this point. I will say, however, that giving Brown your cash is not unlike an Israeli citizen giving a sweet donation to Hamas. To what degree would you be culpable in any anti-Catholic violence that might result from the hatred puked up by Brown's twisted imagination? Your moral cooperation would be remote at best, but why put yourself in the position of even having to ask the question?

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed an incredibly dangerous "hate crimes" bill. Federal prosecutors will be allowed to investigate and prosecute as "thought criminals" anyone who is suspected of inducing by means of "hate speech" a violent act against a member of an enumerated, protected class of citizens, This bill is modeled on similar laws in Canada that have already been used to arrest and charge clergy who preach against same-sex marriage.

Setting aside the obvious First Amendment objections, this bill violates the Fourteenth Amendment by giving selected citizens more protection under the law than others. Anyone remember this: "Some animals are more equal than others?" Violence against someone due to animus toward their religious beliefs is one of the enumerated crimes.

My question: when some whacko vandalizes a Catholic Church, will the Feds go after Brown for his obvious anti-Catholic "hate speech"?

I went and saw this movie tonight. Nearly every problem I had with the book wasn't really addressed in the movie. It was actually, imho, a decent view of the church. The entire theater was cheering when the new pope was elected at the end. It's at least a good conversation starter. Again, much, much, better than the book.